Pearl of the Stars

It was a quiet, subdued Christmas Day in the Ifhans household. The same could be said for many other households within Council of Planets’ space, but more so for the Ifhans.

Grace Ifhans, the youngest girl of three, had only weeks ago returned from battle against the League of Otherworlds. Her vessel, the Pearl of the Stars, had returned alone with her crew severely diminished. Several thousand men, women, and even children, had lost their lives during the battle and even though deep down, somewhere hidden within her soul, Grace Ifhans knew that she was not to blame, she could not help but feel responsible for each and every death.

The journey home had itself taken the better part of a month as Grace, along with the surviving members of her crew and a number of other personnel, had traversed many a star system en route. During that month, Grace had found herself able to think of little else but the lives lost, both friend and foe, during the battle for the possession of the Hixia Star System.

For almost two weeks following the Pearl’s return, Lieutenant Grace Ifhans had spent every waking hour contacting the next of kin for those who had lost their lives under her command. She had started with those who had died on board the Pearl herself including Helena Thomas, the widow left behind when Captain Gerhard Thomas had met his demise, thus leaving his commander, Grace Ifhans in command of his ship and eventually, through a cruel process of elimination, command of the entire fleet.

“He fought bravely,” she had said, realising how empty the words sounded. “He was a credit to the Council of Planets,” knowing full well that Ms. Thomas nor anyone else with whom she contacted gave a crap about that. They wanted to hear her say something that legally she was not permitted to say, even though she wanted to say it too.

“We will exact our revenge upon the Others. They will pay with their lives for each and every life they took, and then some,” but she couldn’t say that, it was against Council policy. If she hadn’t known for a fact that her calls were being monitored then she would most definitely have been tempted but the minimum penalty for saying what she wanted to was that the individual responsible would be removed from command, and that was exactly where she needed to be in order to do what had to be done.

“Those in the fleet who remain will miss him dearly,” she said. Lieutenant Grace Ifhans could almost feel the handset vibrate against her ear as Ms. Thomas broke down in tears. The worst fears of anyone whose loved ones entered battle on behalf of the Council of Planets had been realised for her. She had lost her husband.

The Council of Planets was well aware of the risks faced by their fleet officers and would ensure Ms. Thomas was looked after financially for the rest of her life. Her life, empty without the one she loved.

“Promise me,” she sobbed, and Grace Ifhans bit her lip for she knew what was coming. “Promise me you’ll get the bastards.”

“I can’t make such a promise, Ms. Johnson I’m sorry, but it is against protocol.” It stung Grace to utter such a phrase, and the words tasted bitter in her mouth.

“Promise me!” Such was the pain and anguish in her voice that Grace almost did, if only to put the poor woman out of her misery, but she managed to keep it together and to remain professional.

“I cannot, Ms. Johnson. You have my sincerest condolences.” That said Lieutenant Grace Ifhans terminated the call and fell to the floor sobbing, tears streaming down her face.

***

Over the next few weeks, Lieutenant Grace Ifhans attended many Council meetings, an honour not normally bestowed upon a lowly commander but, due to the fact that only her vessel had returned from the previous battle, her presence had been deemed acceptable. There were conditions of course, well just one really; she was to remain silent during those meetings, and anything discussed within the confines of the Council chamber she must keep to herself until the information was released through the correct channels.

Several meetings took place, and nothing much was decided. Despite the fact that they had invited her, most of the councillors looked down their noses at Grace, all except one that is.

“Lieutenant.” Councillor Hynes caught Grace’s eye during a brief coffee break, although Grace Ifhans suspected that the reason for the break was more likely due to a number of the senior councillors needing to use the bathroom. Still, she rarely turned down the opportunity to raise her caffeine levels.

“Councillor Hynes.” Grace Ifhans smiled and downed her third mug of coffee before she hurried over to where he sat. “I trust you are well?”

“Very well, thank you,” Councillor Hynes replied, beaming widely. He was the youngest member of the Council, somewhere in his mid-forties and rather attractive. Beneath his well fitted suit, Lieutenant Ifhans could tell that he had kept his body in good shape, an unusual trait for a councillor. “You may be wondering why I am in such a good mood.”

“The thought had crossed my mind, Councillor,” Grace replied respectfully. In truth the thought had not crossed her mind at all, but there was no reason to allow that fact to become common knowledge. “I can only assume, that you are going to keep me in suspense no longer.”

“I’m afraid I shall have to,” he said, the reply knocking Grace back a little. Councillor Hynes had always been nothing short of candid with her and for him to keep his cards so close to his chest was rather worrying. “But I will say this. I have enough support to get a motion passed with a majority of sixty-two percent.” He quickly raised his index finger to his lips, a universal command that one should not reply. Grace kept quiet although now it was her turn to beam madly. She knew exactly what a sixty-two percent vote meant. “I hear the repairs to the Pearl are complete.”

“Yes Councillor,” Lieutenant Grace Ifhans replied, attempting to stifle a joyful laugh.

“That is good news.” Councillor Hynes spoke with care so as not to give anything away to anyone who may be listening in to the conversation. “I shall see you inside in a couple of minutes,”

“Yes Councillor, thank you.” Lieutenant Ifhans held out her hand and respectfully shook the Councillor’s own. “Thank you, so much.”

***

Ten minutes later the Council had reconvened and Lieutenant Grace Ifhans sat silently, trying her damnedest not to catch the eye of Councillor Hynes who, to his credit, was doing exactly the same. It came as a welcome distraction to them both when a woman, surly in appearance and expression dressed almost smartly in the flowing robes of her people, stood and cleared her throat.

“I hereby call this meeting to order.” Despite her appearance the woman’s voice was deceptively quiet and calm, a fact that Grace had not realised for it was the first time that she had spoken, certainly in Lieutenant Ifhans’ presence. Even during the hours before the break during which the Pearl’s black box had been thoroughly studied, she had not said a word. “Councillor Hynes, it is my understanding that there an order of business you wish to address.”

“Thank you, Chairwoman,” Councillor Hynes stood as the Chairwoman sat. Once he was satisfied, he turned to address the rest of the Council, taking great care not to look in Lieutenant Grace Ifhans’ direction. “It is no great secret that we are at war with the League of Otherworlds. As you are all aware, this war has been going on for far too long. Centuries have passed and countless generations have fought this war, and the losses on both sides have been great,” he paused to allow the truth of his words sink in. There was no member of the Council that needed to be reminded though for they were children of war, as were their parents and grandparents.

“Since the hollow victory at Hixia, a battle from which only one vessel returned, our military has been working around the clock with the top engineers our large chunk of this Galaxy has to offer, and it appears that significant technological advances have been made.”

“What kind of advances, Councillor?” It was indeed a valid question, and one to which the Chairwoman required an answer.

“Weaponry.” Councillor Hynes replied without missing a beat. “But more importantly, shielding. Using numbers and equations far beyond my own understanding, the shields of our battleships and warships are now twice as effective as previous models,” again he paused for questions but no one spoke, so Councillor Hynes continued. “We have a brand new fleet, fifty-seven vessels in total including three mobile repair vessels, all of which are already equipped with upgraded weapons and shields.” He knew things were going well. It was a rare occasion at council meetings that any single person could speak for so long without interruption. “Those upgraded weapons and shields have also been fitted to the Pearl of the Stars,”

“Get to the point, Councillor,” another, more senior member of the council spoke, and Councillor Hynes nodded respectfully.

“I put forward that our fleet move to attack and destroy the League of Otherworlds home system, military targets only of course. The fleet should take a route through Others space that allows for maximum damage to be inflicted upon military installations, space docks, and the like,”

“There have been such attempts before, and yet still we are at war,” the senior Councillor said carefully. “Why should we believe that this occasion will differ?”

“Never before have we had such a technological advantage. Never before have we suffered so greatly at the hands of the Others as we did at Hixia, and never before have we had a Lieutenant...” Councillor Hynes paused, and gestured theatrically towards Lieutenant Grace Ifhans. “Never before have we had a Lieutenant so determined to avenge the deaths of her fellows and to put an end to this war.”

His words were received with raucous applause and cheering from all of those present, other than Lieutenant Ifhans. She remained silent although inside, she was cheering with more volume and vigour than anyone else.

“Just so we are all clear,” the Chairwoman spoke, once the applause and cheering had died down to something resembling a murmur. “You wish to send our fleet back into battle, with a lowly Lieutenant leading the way?” Councillor Hynes caught Grace’s eye before she had a chance to protest, and then addressed the Chairwoman with the calm, collected tones of one who knew he had already achieved his goal. The rest was simply semantics.

“Which brings me to my next point, Chairwoman,” Councillor Hynes replied with a smile. “Due to her excellence and bravery shown in the face of the enemy, I put forward that Lieutenant Grace Ifhans be promoted to Captain, thus making her eligible to lead our fleet.”

“Are there any objections to the Councillor’s proposal?” the Chairwoman asked, putting the question to the rest of the Council. As Councillor Hynes had expected, no such objections were voiced, and the Chairwoman nodded slowly. “Then it is settled. Captain Grace Ifhans will lead our fleet on it’s mission to the League of Otherworlds home system, destroying all military installations en route.” It was at that point that the Chairwoman addressed Captain Grace Ifhans directly. “Captain. Once you reach your destination, you have our authorisation to offer the Others two options. Either they surrender, or they are destroyed. Either way, peace will out,”

“Yes Ma’am, thank you.” Captain Grace Ifhans stood and saluted smartly. “I shall prove to you and all parties present that your faith in me is not misplaced.”

“Ensure that it is not, Captain.” The Chairwoman smiled at Grace, although it was a smile that left the newly promoted Admiral under no illusions. Failure, was not an option.